All Grown Up
by FanWriterWV
Summary: In 1958 Radar gets some visitors after his mother's funeral.


_**ALL GROWN UP**_

_Ottumwa, Iowa, 1958_

The funeral service was quite and dignified. Walter was pleased to see so many of his family-both his relatives and his extended family from Korea-here. When the time came, Walter got up to perform the eulogy.

"My mother was one of the strongest people I knew," he began. As he spoke, he glanced at Colonel-no, he was just Sherman now-Potter sitting in the front row with Hawkeye, B.J., and Trapper. _"Lord knows your mother is a strong woman, but she can't run that farm alone," _the Colonel had told him the day he learned he was going home. "I didn't realize how strong she was until I came back and learned how much she'd had to do on her own. I guess I know how some of you here, like Sherman Potter and B.J., felt. The people we left behind had to do a lot, and they did it with the same kind of courage and hard work that we all had to learn in Korea. I miss you, Mom, but I'll never forget you."

After the service, the others came over to give him their support. "That was a nice eulogy, son," Sherman said. "Your mother would have been proud of the way you handled yourself today."

"Same here," Hawkeye added. "You probably did more growing up than any of us."

"Indeed, Walter, although I might have made fun of your farming background in the past, I am glad I got to know the rest of your family."

"Thank you, sirs, all of you. This would have been a lot harder without any of you here."

"Please, don't call us 'Sirs,'" Hawkeye gently chided him. "None of us were really in the Army to begin with-no offense, Colonel."

"None taken, son," Potter chuckled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I see Mildred wants my attention."

"It really was a nice service," former Major Houlihan, now Mrs. Benjamin Pierce, stood at Hawkeye's side. "I remember how hard it was for me to speak at my father's funeral." Margaret's headstrong father had died just a couple of years after she'd gotten back home.

"Yes, Ma'am, I remember." Walter looked back at the casket where his mother now lay. "I hope she's with Uncle Ed and Dad now."

"I'm sure she is, son," Father Mulchahy, who'd helped make the arrangements, laid a hand on Walter's shoulder. "She was a good woman."

Walter nodded. "Yes, father, she was…"

_Later that night_

Walter tossed and turned fitfully in his bed. It was the middle of summer, but it felt unusually cool. Walter could hear the distant rumble of thunder. It had rained all day, but it had felt soothing, as if some of the loss he felt had been washed away.

"Walter?" A voice spoke to him out of the darkness. "Walter, can you hear me?"

Walter opened his eyes and searched for his glasses. "Huh? Who is it?"

The voice responded with gentle laughter. "There's no need for your glasses, son. It's just me."

Walter peered up at the ceiling. "Ma? Is that really you?"

"Yes, Walter, it's me. I'm here with your Uncle Ed and Father. They both want you to know that they're all right. We're all together and we've been watching over you."

"Uncle Ed's been…watching me?"

"That's right," a deep voice said. "I remember the day you came home. I saw you ride off in that jeep. You stood up straight and tall. I was proud of you, boy. I'm still proud of you, and the work you did at the 4077th."

Walter felt tears coming. "I've missed you, Uncle Ed."

"And we miss you. But we won't be apart forever. Your mother felt that you needed someone to talk to today, so we got special permission to come here and let you know…it's going to be all right."

"You've got wonderful friends, son," his mother responded. "Remember that you can go to any one of them when you need to…and also remember, we'll be watching over you, and waiting until it's time for you to join us."

"But that won't be for many more years," Uncle Ed added. "So live your life, be good to others, and…we'll see each other again someday, all right?"

Walter nodded. "All right." He felt sleepy now and much better as he closed his eyes and drifted off, dreaming of the past, and the future.

As he said goodbye to the others at the airport in Des Moines, Walter took Father Mulchahy aside. "Do you believe in spirits, Father?"

"Well, I believe someone up there is always watching over us, if that's hat you mean." Father Mulchahy looked at Walter through his glasses. "Is everything all right, son?"

Walter glanced up at the sky. _We're always watching over you, _he thought he heard voices saying. "Yes, Father. Everything's all right."

THE END


End file.
